Large Capacity Easy to make proofing box

[Matthew]

Matt,

I was just thinking...and no, I didn't hurt myself by doing so,  but since you have a dim switch installed, have you considered using one of those food lamp bulbs or perhaps an infrared heating lamp bulb? That might be a better option than a regular light bulb in order to control the temp and humidity.

Just a thought, though.

Hey Bro,
Nice to hear from you, hope your well.  It's a good idea but way overkill for the size of the cooler.  I had the temperature steady at 72 degrees & the bulb was barely on.  My guess is that it was at about 4-5 percent capacity.  I was fooling around with it for a while & a slight touch of the dimmer will increase temperature by 3-4 degrees.  My next project (when I get some time) is to build one out of wood that will hold full size dough proofing boxes.

[scott123]

The Brits have science TV show call 'Bang Goes The Theory.' On a recent episode, they cooked a chicken with two bulbs in a space about that big.

Infrared lamps (food or otherwise), work by line of sight. In an enclosed space such as this, they wouldn't heat evenly. A regular bulb is perfect for the task.

Matthew, if possible, you might want to track down a smaller bulb.  A smaller bulb will result in a greater range of rotation on the dimmer.  This will let you mark off temps on the dimmer dial easier.

[norma427]

Hi Norma,

I don't want to steer this thread in the wrong direction, but I made a couple of awesome NY pizzas tonight & used Brick cheese.  Give it a try, I think you'll love it.  Sorry no pics, we were all starving.

Matt

Matt,

Great to hear your NY pies were awesome.  Was the brick cheese the white cheddar?

Norma

[Matthew]

Matt,

Great to hear your NY pies were awesome.  Was the brick cheese the white cheddar?

Norma

Hi Norma,
Brick is kind of a cross between mozzarella & white cheddar.  It melts quite nicely & has a really nice flavor.  The wikipedia definition is as follows;
Brick cheese is a cheese from Wisconsin, USA, made in brick-shaped form, also known as a square, which can be considered a rectangular shape. The color ranges from pale yellow to white, and the cheese has a sweet and mild flavor when young, and matures into a strong ripe cheese with age. It is medium-soft, crumbles easily and is somewhat sticky to the knife.

[norma427]

Hi Norma,
Brick is kind of a cross between mozzarella & white cheddar.  It melts quite nicely & has a really nice flavor.  The wikipedia definition is as follows;
Brick cheese is a cheese from Wisconsin, USA, made in brick-shaped form, also known as a square, which can be considered a rectangular shape. The color ranges from pale yellow to white, and the cheese has a sweet and mild flavor when young, and matures into a strong ripe cheese with age. It is medium-soft, crumbles easily and is somewhat sticky to the knife.

Matt,

Thanks for the explanation.    Was this the same pie you had in your new proofer and if is was did you notice any difference in the dough, by adding the humidity?  Sorry to ask all these questions, but I was just curious. 

Norma

[Matthew]

Matt,

Thanks for the explanation.    Was this the same pie you had in your new proofer and if is was did you notice any difference in the dough, by adding the humidity?  Sorry to ask all these questions, but I was just curious. 

Norma

Yes it was.  It was as good as the dough proofed in the MR148 & better than dough left to ferment in the kitchen at room temperature.  Gotta run, the soccer game is starting. 

Matt

[shuboyje]

It's one of the easiest things you will ever wire.  There will be three terminals on the thermostat because you need 3 if it is running a 220V heater.  You will only need two and the instructions will tell you which two.  You simply wire it inline with either of the wires going to the light it doesn't matter which one.  So for example you run the black wire to the thermostat, then another black wire out of the thermostat to the lights.  Thats it.

I'll talk with my wife about proofer humidity later on.  She has been in the pizza business for years and is a general manager of a pizza hut where they use huge commercial proofers every day.  I know they have a digital temperature gauge and bet they have a humidity setting too.

I was thinking about that.  My electrical knowledge is somewhat limited & not sure on the connection.  Would I connect it to the light socket wires?

Matt

[Matthew]

It's one of the easiest things you will ever wire.  There will be three terminals on the thermostat because you need 3 if it is running a 220V heater.  You will only need two and the instructions will tell you which two.  You simply wire it inline with either of the wires going to the light it doesn't matter which one.  So for example you run the black wire to the thermostat, then another black wire out of the thermostat to the lights.  Thats it.

I'll talk with my wife about proofer humidity later on.  She has been in the pizza business for years and is a general manager of a pizza hut where they use huge commercial proofers every day.  I know they have a digital temperature gauge and bet they have a humidity setting too.

Great.  Thanks.

Matt

[Matthew]

I went to Home Depot last night to pick up the electrical parts that I needed to finish my proofing box.  After my conversation with the employee in the electrical department who was a licensed electrician, I kind a changed my mind when he pointed out the many things that could go wrong with what i was trying to do.  So I put everything back & went home empty handed.  

I did a bit of research online & found another simple, SAFE, & effective home made proofing box & in no time put this together.  All you need are 2 plastic storage containers (The bins should fit inside each other with a gap of air at least two inches between the two bottoms), an aquarium heater with a built in thermostat, & a thermometer.  I have been testing it out for 4 hours & the temperature is extremely stable & very accurate.

Matt